House Republicans face internal debate over whether or not to remove Representative Liz Cheney from her leadership position after her voted to impeach former President Trump for instigating the January 6 riot in the Capitol. The debate has become so bitter that some Republicans are concerned that it will prevent the conference from presenting a united front against President Biden’s new policies.
Republican representatives Matt Rosendale of Montana and Andy Biggs of Arizona are among those who muster the support of their colleagues to vote for a resolution removing the Wyoming Republican as chair of the GOP conference. Sources familiar with the effort claim that more than 115 of the 211 Republicans would vote to remove her, even though they declined to share the list.
A Republican employee expressed skepticism about those numbers, telling CBS News, “I want to see the evidence. Show me the list.”
Both House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP Whip Steve Scalise, who were re-elected to their office along with Cheney in November, have publicly backed their colleagues. But in an interview with Greta Van Susteren airing on Sunday, McCarthy said Cheney did not share her point of view with him ahead of time and that he has “concerns” that Cheney will have to answer for the conference.
“She may have a disagreement, but if we are going to lead within the conference, we have to work together as a whole conference because we are representative of that conference,” McCarthy said.
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Cheney has remained defiant throughout the process, telling reporters on the impeachment day, “I’m not going anywhere.” Asked about the removal threat in an interview on Fox News on Thursday, she said there would be discussions about the process, but added, “I expect and am confident that in the future we will be united as a conference. how important it is to make sure we stand up and fight the policies of the Biden government. ”
Cheney, the conference’s highest-ranking woman, is seen as a potential future leader in the House of Representatives – especially when she missed the opportunity to run for an open Senate seat in Wyoming last year. Now she has signed three primary challengers for her seat in the House, including Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard, who said her impeachment vote “shows she has no contact with Wyoming.”
Cheney was the most high-profile and highest rank of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president. After making the announcement, Rosendale called for her to resign, saying she “had not consulted the Conference, was not following the spirit of the Republican Conference rules, and was ignoring the preferences of Republican voters.”
The main irritant for Republicans who supported the removal effort was Cheney’s decision to make her position known the day before the vote, a source familiar with attempts to remove Cheney from her leadership position told CBS News. During the debate the next day, House Democrats quoted her words on the floor.
“We had an impeachment vote that week, and the night before the impeachment vote, the conference chairman issued the statement that was used like a bat by the Democrats all day long … there was a level of extreme frustration there,” the source said.
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More than a dozen Republicans, including some senior members of the conference, have publicly supported her decision. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said the removal of her “is a bad message” after McCarthy told House Republicans to vote their consciences on impeachment.
“At this point, we should focus on stopping President Biden from implementing some of his more liberal agenda items, including re-joining the Paris climate accord and halting the construction of the Keystone Pipeline, rather than with bicker each other, ”he added.
Even Texas Representative Chip Roy – who is in the House Freedom Caucus with some of the members trying to remove Cheney – stood by her. “Liz should be commended, not condemned, for standing up in defense of the constitution and staying true to her beliefs,” he said.
Cheney’s removal as chair of the conference would require a multi-step process. First, her opponents would have to collect the signatures of at least 43 members – 20% of the caucus – to summon a special gathering of the Republican Conference. There they were able to file a resolution to remove her from her job. If two-thirds of the House Republicans agree, they can immediately proceed to a vote on the resolution.
Otherwise, McCarthy could send the resolution to one of the House GOP’s internal committees – including some members of the leadership – for a ruling. If they give a favorable opinion on the resolution, it will go to the conference for a secret ballot. If they report an unfavorable recommendation, the resolution would hiss and die.
While the support of the leadership will likely help Cheney keep her job, there are concerns that allowing the attempt to remove her this far has encouraged the far right of the caucus and prevents the GOP from setting a united front against Biden. presents.
“This is a bad message to send to women, it is a bad message to send to our freshmen,” said a Republican staffer who was given anonymity to speak candidly. The executive said any success in ousting Cheney from leadership would mean members could face primary challenges, supported by their fellow members, if they do not adhere to conservative orthodoxy.
‘You give them an inch that they are going to do a mile. If he gives them this, what happens? ‘ said the executive.
Arden Farhi contributed to reporting.